Chapter 20 - The Heart
July 6th, 1992 (Monday)
Location: Granger's House - Heathgate, Hampstead
Hermione hands the bowl to Daphne who, with a towel in hand, starts to dry the dish before passing it along to Meissa. As the tallest of the trio, Meissa finds it a bit easier to return the dish to its' shelf in the cabinet. Between the three of them they are able to finish washing and putting away the dishes before it gets too late. Once the task was done they returned to the first floor to dress for the day - having gone downstairs in their night wear.
Meissa's chosen attire for the day is a simple pair of trousers - the faded jeans - and a loose shirt with 'Born This Way' written boldly across the chest. Strapped to her forearm is her holster, her wand safely secured inside. Since the weather seems to be relatively warm she decides to forgo a long sleeve shirt underneath the first.
Daphne, for once since their stay, decides to forgo a dress or a skirt. Instead her outfit consists of a pair of trousers - they seem to be a semi-formal style that her cousin favors - coupled with a simple blouse. It seems like it's made from silk or something a few steps above cotton or even wool. Meissa has the distinct feeling that the blouse would feel soft beneath her touch. The blonde, instead of using an arm holster, simply tucks hers into a holster secured to the belt of her trousers.
Meissa thought it was impractical - Daphne would have to reach around behind her back, grab the wand, and bring it back around to point at whoever she needs to point it at. Whereas her arm holster allows her to simply flick her hand and barely a heartbeat later she has her wand. She makes a note to get Daphne a better holster for Christmas.
She also makes a note to get something for Daphne's birthday ahead of time. She missed her chance last time since Daphne didn't share with her when her birthday was until nearly a week before the date. She scarcely had time to order something for the blonde - a book on advanced Transfiguration - and it felt a little impersonal.
"Ready?" Daphne asks after she stashed away her dirty laundry.
Meissa glances up from her notebook, which has her latest thoughts on the ward scheme she wants to utilize. Each page has a rune circle with notes detailing its' purpose with even more pages expanding on it. Since each circle has to be drawn perfectly on their medium she has pages dedicated to each rune in each circle.
"Yeah. Want to see if 'Mione is?"
Meissa shoves the notebook into her pocket as Daphne nods, following the other girl out of the room.
"Hermione!" she calls out cheerfully, bouncing through the hall to knock on the Gryffindor's door. "Do you want to build a ward?" she sings airily.
The door flies open and she's greeted with an incredulous look from the other girl.
"You are absolutely ridiculous," the brunette announces but, nonetheless, slips on her shoes. Meissa simply gives her a cheeky grin.
"So what are your plans?" Daphne asks, heading down the stairs. Meissa simply grabs her notebook and tosses it to her fellow Slytherin. "Oi!" Daphne glares at the raven haired girl, gripping the notebook.
"Just read it," Meissa stuck her tongue out at her, making her way to the door leading to the cellar.
Hermione pauses to study the notebook alongside with Daphne.
"Meissa, what is this?!"
The only response they got from the other girl was a loud crackle of amusement.
~MJB~
Meissa hums idly to herself, surveying her surroundings. The cellar is neatly organized - lined with shelves that are burdened by boxes clearly labeled. The remaining space is cleared of everything, leaving it open for anyone to use the cellar however they want. Of course, it also makes it a challenge to determine where the best location of the center rune circle.
It must be a permanent fixture, something that cannot be easily removed or changed.
"Meissa," Hermione calls, the stairs creaking slightly as she enters the cellar. "What are these runes for?"
"Ah - it's not in my notes?"
"Honestly," Daphne starts, tossing the slim book to its owner, "I think you're the only one who can understand your own writing."
Meissa fumbles the notebook, scrambling to catch it while giving Daphne a glare for her antics. Neither chose to mention the fact that out of everyone that ever seen Meissa's handwriting, Daphne has the best chance of deciphering it.
"So?" Daphne prompts.
"Mm?" She blinks as she realizes that they're waiting for her to translate her notes. "Oh, right, so…" she opens the notebook to the overall scheme.
"That doesn't look too different from what you showed me before," Hermione remarks before Meissa could say anything, leaning in to get a closer look.
"It is rather similar to that," she agrees. "However, this is both more complicated while at the same time just as simple." She turns the page to show the runes for the center piece. "This would be the one for the house."
Daphne takes another look of the pages. "A rune for privacy," she reads, squinting and tilting her head slightly to the side. "A rune for protection…"
She didn't get far on that list before Meissa snaps the notebook shut. It wasn't exactly easy to even try and make out a sentence so one part of her was annoyed at the fact that Meissa interrupted her.
"So why are we down here?" Hermione asks out of confusion.
"It's where the nexus is strongest," Meissa remarks idly, pacing the space. Judging the strength of the magic as it brushes over her skin.
"And how do you intend to place the runes?"
She pauses in the near center of the cellar. This seems to be the strongest point of the nexus and the exact meeting point of all three lines. There's nothing she can use here to carve the runes into - the ground would be treaded on often and wear out the runes too much.
"Up there," she announces cheerfully, pointing to the ceiling above her head.
She pays them no mind as they share a look among themselves.
"What do you want us to do?"
"Maybe you can determine where the South most portion of the estates is?"
Daphne crosses her arms at the other girl, arching a fine eyebrow at her. "How south do you want us to go?"
"Make sure it's on the property and something that won't get removed easily," she instructs while she searches for a way to easily reach where she intends to place the array.
"Don't do anything reckless," Daphne tells her sternly, leading the way up the stairs. Hermione cast a worried look at the raven haired girl before wordlessly following the blonde.
Once the door to the cellar was shut Meissa flicks her wand into her hand. With a soft murmur she creates a near replica of the array meant for the center of the ward scheme. She then enlarges it to the point of being nearly a foot wide. With the notebook in hand she double checks her notes, making sure that each rune is exactly as it should be.
After a brief moment she concludes that everything is good to go and sends it up to the ceiling. She takes her time to make sure to rotate the array until its aligned to the four corners of the property. Once she's satisfied with that she turns to the north, mentally centering herself as she recalls the design and the incantation. And the one thing she has to always keep in her mind as she recites the words.
Shouldn't be too hard.
"From the North, I beseech thee, grant upon this house protection of the Earth. Shroud this land from unwanted gazes." She traces an inverted triangle before drawing a horizontal line through the center with her wand, leaving an afterimage that lingers. The triangle floats before her and glows as a bright shade of green. She had to resist the urge to breathe in relief, reminding herself that she has three more to do.
She turns to the east.
"From the East, I beseech thee, grant upon this house protection of the Air. Tear all who threatens the people of this land." For a second time she traces a triangle - upright this time - with a horizontal bar through the middle. Unlike the first triangle this one glows a bright shade of yellow - it reminds her faintly of the sun.
She turns to the south.
"From the South, I beseech thee, grant upon this house protection of the Fire. Burn all those who seek to harm the inhabitants of this land." She traces another upright triangle but this time without a horizontal line. It glows fiercely as a bright vivid red that truly reminds her of fire.
One more.
She turns to the west.
"From the West, I beseech thee, grant upon this house protection of the Water. Cleanse this land now and forevermore." She traces an inverted triangle - without the line - and watches as it takes on a bright blue glow.
With the last symbol now drawn the four triangles pulse together in time as she focuses on the heart of the ward.
With every beat of her heart so did the symbols pulse. In her mind she can see the four points of the ward. She still haven't pinpointed where the array for the South point should go but, as she stands there at the heart of the property, surrounded by the nexus, she can envision it.
But the heart of the ward - the one who will be able to control the ward freely - she thinks of her.
Stubborn - she won't be easily convinced to sway from her convictions.
Compassion - she cares too much about others.
Anger - hard to rouse but it burns hotter than the sun once it gets going.
She thinks about all of this before she draws a circle. It glows white before she adds on four more lines. One going vertically. One going horizontally. And two going diagonally. With these four lines a wheel is formed. She takes out her hand and gently 'cups' the new symbol.
"I beseech to thee, Spirit, grant upon this house thy protection," she whispers, her voice dropping from the near chant-like level, "Ward this house from harm."